


A Glimpse of Daxam

by I am not sure I like this show (thisisnotanendorsement)



Series: Once a Prince of Daxam [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Pre-Relationship, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 08:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8791018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisnotanendorsement/pseuds/I%20am%20not%20sure%20I%20like%20this%20show
Summary: Cisco vibes and stumbles onto the secret Mon-El was keeping from Kara and a bit of why.Another test/loose tie-in with Two Aliens Are Better than One.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this as a bit of a test after yet another no sleep night. I want to blame work for that, but it's probably not them and just... me. 
> 
> This idea is one that I kind of like but think will detract from the crossover, so I decided to write it out to make it stop annoying me and yet not clutter up a story that is... huge already.

* * *

_“Do you remember the story of Valor?”_

_Mon-El looked up, nodding. He had heard the tale—part of it—every night since he was born. The whole thing took weeks to tell, and he fell asleep to it. When he was younger, it confused him, never having the story in order, but now he knew it well enough to quote it, to know exactly which line came next. “Yes, Father.”_

_Smiling, his father put his hand on Mon-El's head. He combed his fingers through Mon-El's hair, acting like it was a gesture of affection and not one of control. “You are named for him.”_

_“I know.”_

_“The people need hope, and that is why we have you.”_

_Mon-El pulled away, reaching up to fix his hair, wanting to rid himself of the way it felt when he was touched. “You only had me because you didn't think my brother would live.”_

_“Mon-El, how can you say that?”_

_“It is what everyone says,” Mon-El said, folding his arms over his chest. “It is not a secret.”_

_His father knelt down in front of him. “I want to know who told you that lie. No, don't jerk your head at me. They told you that to hurt you, and I want to know who and why.”_

_Mon-El just looked at him, not saying anything._

_“Your brother is not going to die,” his father insisted. “And were that to happen, you would be a fine leader. I know that.”_

_Mon-El frowned, trying to decide if that was a lie, but before he could ask his father about it, an aide approached them._

_“Your majesty, the delegates from Krypton are here.”_

* * *

“Whoa,” Cisco said, pulling back and staring at Mon-El. “Just whoa. I have never vibed like that off of anyone before, and that was just straight up intense. Incredible. Wow.”

Cisco wasn't sure which was more interesting, what he had seen a minute ago or how Mon-El reacted after it was over. He had never seen that much panic on a man's face before, not even in the worst of their many crises—maybe because he didn't have a mirror—but no, he was cool under pressure. This guy was not.

“You can't tell Kara,” Mon-El said, and Cisco frowned. “I mean it. Whatever it was, whatever you saw, you can't tell her.”

Cisco shook his head. “Slow down. There is no need to panic—” 

“You can't tell her,” Mon-El insisted. “She won't understand.”

“You're acting I had to see you committing some kind of crime,” Cisco said. He shook his head. “No, man, that was totally awesome. Not only did I get to see what I assume was the palace on Daxam, the mural you told us about—okay, that thing is seriously messed up—and I saw the king and—”

“Tell no one.”

“But you're a—”

“Don't tell anyone.”

“Dude, how do you expect me to say nothing when I—”

“If you really consider me a friend,” Mon-El said, “if you value that friendship at all, then you have to do this for me. You have to keep this a secret.”

* * *

“Cisco, have you seen Mon-El?” Kara asked, coming up to him in the lab. She swore she'd been all over the building, and she had x-ray vision and super hearing. She should have been able to find one Daxamite by now. “I need to talk to him about—what is that look? Did something bad happen?”

“Oh, no,” Cisco said, shaking his head and pulling himself out of wherever his mind had been. “Nothing bad. Just... doing my thing.”

“Um... okay.”

“So... can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, anything,” Kara said. She still had time to find Mon-El. This was not urgent. “I may not be able to answer, but I'll try.”

“You said there was this rivalry between Krypton and Daxam,” Cisco said. “Why was that?”

“Democracy versus monarchy, pacifism versus war, morals versus hedonism,” she said, shrugging. “Why is that important? Did you see Mon-El and you didn't tell me?”

“So... you dislike the whole idea of kings and princes and—”

“Daxam's last prince was a piece of work,” Kara said. “You know those scandals you hear about with celebrities and royalty here on earth? Just... amplify that times ten and you know what the prince was like.”

Cisco frowned. “Are you sure about that?”

“Oh, yeah. He was—let's just say I'm glad he died with Daxam.”

“Right. I... I think I understand now.”

* * *

“So, you were some kind of wild party animal back on Daxam,” Cisco said, sitting down next to Mon-El. He frowned, looking over from his alien rum at his uninvited guest. He didn't know that Cisco would be able to keep quiet if he was pressured—or if it would even take pressure—and in the face of that, Mon-El didn't want to be sober.

He didn't have much time before it was all over.

“Seriously? You have nothing to say to that?”

“Go away, Cisco.”

Cisco shook his head. “You know, I thought Barry was bad, but you just might be worse. Just how bad do you have it, anyway? And what did you do as a prince that has you so afraid of her knowing that's who you really are?”

Mon-El shook his head. “You don't understand.”

“Then lay it on me, bro. I can handle it,” Cisco said. Mon-El gave him a look. “I survived Reverse Flash pretending to be Harrison Wells. I also survived the real Harrison Wells. And Hartley. I've known plenty of narcissists. I worked with Barry after Flashpoint. You can tell me. I've probably heard worse.”

“It's not what I did. It's what the regent did.”

“Okay, so... that makes no sense. If someone else did the bad stuff, why are you so afraid of her knowing?” Cisco nudged him. “What I saw seemed pretty nice, actually. You, your dad... And you had a brother—was he the prince she hated so much?”

Mon-El didn't know. Probably not. “When the king died, both of us were still children, and a regent was named. He would have stepped down when my brother was old enough, but his health...”

“He was too sick to rule?”

“That was what the regent said. By then most of us... hadn't seen much of him in years.” Mon-El reached for his drink. “I... I did a lot of things... I hated the regent. I hated that he wasn't my father, but he acted like he was, like he owned everything...”

“So you partied a lot, broke the rules like every typical teenager does.”

Mon-El smiled a little. “Yes. And... no. This was... The regent's policies were extremely unpopular. I was... young, fun, and defiant. People wanted to... replace him and my brother. I... My planet was on the edge of civil war. Because of me.”

Cisco winced. “Ouch, but then if the guy was corrupt—”

“I didn't want to rule. I was glad not to. I would have left him in power forever,” Mon-El said. “I hated him, but I didn't want to be in his place. Maybe if I was... If I'd cared, done something, even just fought to see my brother... I drank. I went from one party to another, pretending I was having fun. I don't remember most of that time. I barely remember Daxam.”

“That doesn't make you—” 

“And now I am the only one left.”


End file.
